Don’t heed the siren song of nationalism

RESPONDING to Mark Drakeford’s election as Welsh Labour leader, Gerwyn Morgan (WM letters, December 8) used Churchill’s condescending remark “a modest man, who has much to be modest about”.

However, he chose not to mention the target of Churchill’s barb, who was, of course, Clem Atlee, the leader of what is regarded the greatest peacetime government in history. His modesty also hid the fact that he sheltered a Jewish refugee during the war, until it was recently revealed.

Gerwyn seems to prefer the strident nationalist outpourings of Nicola Sturgeon and the Dark Age ranting fundamentalism of Arlene Foster. Gerwyn is correct in identifying nationalists as sources of “charisma and dynamism”, with their public oratory inspiring the masses. In modern times the likes of Slobodan Milosevic, Viktor Orban and Andrzej Duda have inspired exuberant expressions of nationalist pride in Serbia, Hungary and Poland. Marine Le Pen has recently revived popular nationalistic fervour in France in the same manner.

Despite Welsh devolution being hijacked by Welsh-language infiltrators into the Welsh Labour Party, the population thankfully continues to be dismissive of independence, with only 6% in favour.

I’m putting my trust in Mark Drakeford to pursue the traditional principles of the Labour Party by putting the “Welsh culture and language” of the 6% on the back burner and transferring scarce resources where they are desperately needed. He can then, in the tradition of Clem Atlee, lift Wales’ deprived areas out of poverty and provide equal opportunities, especially in education, to create social mobility for those who have been trapped in the cycle of hopelessness and neglect for generations.